This one-of-a-kind pen is ready to put a new spin on Pointillism art in the 21st century. 

Many years ago in art class, I remember learning about the famous painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by French artist Georges Seurat. As an exemplar of the Pointillist technique, the piece was certainly fun to look at first up-close, when it was simply a frenzy of colored dots, and then from a distance, when the thousands of dots blended seamlessly into each other to form a recognizable scene of daily life. Not so fun, however, was trying to replicate the technique for myself–I grew tired of doing nothing but dotting within about 20 minutes.

While Pointillism as an art form hasn’t amassed the same legion of devoted followers today as other art techniques, within the past two years Chinese company Cuttelola has already rolled out a product to inspire a new generation of master Pointillists using a decidedly modern twist. Dubbed “the world’s first electric drawing pen,” the Cuttlelola DotsPen was specifically designed to alleviate the typical burden on artists’ wrists as result of pressing down hard on paper by utilizing a 0.5-mm electric pen tip which sends out a rapid-fire succession of dots.

Here’s what a sample picture looks like while drawing with the DotsPen:

▼ 1) Start 2) After one minute

▼ 3) After five minutes 4) After eight minutes

▼ Completed in 12 minutes

As you can see, the dots create a visually pleasing effect, particularly in terms of the soft contours. In addition, it’s worth noting that the pen’s dotting speed can be set to either “High,” which results in the pen shooting out approximately 1,300 dots per minute, or “Low,” which results in approximately 500 dots per minute.

Curious to see it in motion? Check out the short video clip below.

Furthermore, charging the pen is very easy–simply plug it in with the provided USB cable until fully charged and then it will be ready to use for approximately 30 minutes. The pen can also be used while charging, which is perfect for artists working on more time-intensive projects. In fact, the only downside to the product that we’ve found is the very limited set of available colored ink cartridges at the moment, but this selection will presumably expand over time.

Will the DotsPen become a trusted tool of choice for budding manga artists in Japan? Time will tell, but in the meantime interested artists can find the product at Dospara locations throughout Japan or through “digital idea goods” online retailer Shanghai Donya, where it is currently retailing for 6,499 yen (US$59).

Source: Shanghai Donya via 1UpJohoKyoku
Images: Shanghai Donya